Camp X Traditional Geocache
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(regular)
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Unless you want to do some serious bushwhacking (or weedwhacking) I recommend that you try to use the suggested trails to get you closer to the cache. Trying to go directly from the memorial will make getting to the cache much more difficult. See bottom of description for more details.
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James Bond in Whitby? Well... almost.
Welcome to Camp X.
The History -
Located on the Whitby/Oshawa border, this site is currently know as "Intrepid Park".
During WWII this was the location of a top secret, British run, secret agent training camp and communication facility. The camp was officially known as Special Training School (STS) #103 but was commonly referred to by the code name “Camp X”. It was placed here in 1941 in a colaborative effort between the Canadian, British and US military.
When it was established this facility's existence was not even know to Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie-King since Great Britian feared he would shut down the camp as a violation of Canada’s sovereignty. Local residents were led to believe it was a CBC braodcasting station, due to the radio towers that were actually used to transmit and recieve secret messages betewen North America and Britian. It's location, on the shore of Lake Ontario, allowed it to be reached discreetly at night by water from the US.
It is possible that as many as 2000 secret agents, many being Canadian recruits, were trained here by the British military between 1941 and 1944. Camp X pupils were trained in a wide variety of special techniques including silent killing, sabotage, partisan support and recruitment methods for resistance movements, demolition, map reading, skilled use of various weapons, and Morse code. It is believed that one of the spy trainees was James Bond author Ian Fleming, who later went on to create his famous '007' character using knowledge he acquired here. The communication operations that were conducted at the same facility were code named 'Hydra'. Camp X was also influential in the development of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); five future heads of the CIA were also trained here.
After WWII secret agent training was discontinued, but the camp was re-named the Oshawa Wireless Station and turned over to the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals as a Cold War wireless intercept station (military talk for a spy listening station) from 1944 to 1969. In 1945, Igor Gouzenko the Soviet Embassy cypher clerk whose defection exposed the Soviet spy threat in North America, was hidden at Camp X along with his family for two years. Prime Minister Mackenzie-King was first advised about the camp’s existence when it was suggested that Gouzenko be hidden there.
Today the camp's former location is marked by a small memorial in the 17-acre Intrepid Park. The park takes it's name from Canadian born Sir William Stephenson, director of the New York-based British Security Co-Ordination (BSC). Stephenson was a key player in the establishment of Camp X. His WWII code name was 'Intrepid' and his wartime activities have been documented in the best-selling 1977 book "A Man Called Intrepid".
Also, several times a year Lynn Philip Hodgson, author of the book 'Inside Camp X', leads free guided walks of what remains of Camp X around Intrepid Park.
There's also a new 'Camp X' collection at the Region of Durham Headquarters. There you can learn about Camp X and see a collection of original artifacts.
More on Camp-X history can be found here.
The Cache -
The cache is located within Intrepid Park. Depending when you visit you may be able to find closer parking, but if there is nothing else available you can park at N43 51.236 W78 52.701. The Camp X memorial is located at N43 51.339 W78 53.001, and this is a nice place to visit before heading for the cache. There are two possible trailheads, one located at N43 51.281 W78 52.958 and another at N43 51.328 W78 53.131. I suggest staying on the trails and going to one of the trailheads listed before heading to the cache. See the gallery for an aerial view of the trail from Trailhead #1. Bushwacking your way directly to the cache will make this MUCH more difficult than necessary. The cache is a camoed "lock-n-lock" type container located less than 10m from the trail. Look around as you walk, you may see evidence of the former camp in the form of various bits of broken concrete. Apparently there are also "craters" within the park that were the result of live explosive training conducted here many years ago.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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